Thursday 5 September 2013

Universal Credit-thought through

Has the concept of Universal Credit been thought through by the Government?
Yesterday I posted articles by a number of sources indicated some of the arguments featured in the media.
Today I thought some observations might be relevant.

The all in one system
The Government has mixed the workers with the non workers.Those on Job seekers allowance and those on Tax Credits. Politically this means they cannot say that all those on Universal Credit are "work shy" as this will potentially alianate many millions. Add this to the interesting challenge that they are taking this to a monthly payment instead of the weekly payment this assumes that all those on this benefit can live month by month.
The Credit will also apply to those self employed and on 0 hours contracts. In other words those with the most fluctuating benefit.
The CAB is stating that the benefit allowance is going to be assessed monthly instead of on an annual basis. Over the years many including myself have seen the issue with the annual mistake with Working Family Tax Credit. A letter saying an over payment has been made that they will not take through reduced payments but simply by the setting up of a direct debit, standing order or payment.THEY HAVE MADE THE MISTAKE.

The all in one system is already providing issues for CAB and other relevant bodies on top of the bed room tax.
It is clearly a way of losing votes during a general election.

Computer Training
To expect claiments to use new application processes to apply for relevant benefits you have to provide support. Looking on line through Youtube and other sources where the public will tend to look for information it is clear to see the lack of advice and guidance. INDEED, the majority of material talking you through any of the changes have been created by councils. Very little though the department itself that will be administering the changes.
Indications are that the training for staff at relevant departments is not as good as it might be. There is a strong indication that there may be many grounds for appeal to Upper tier tribunals where Universal Credit has been initially turned down and where decision makers decisions are questioned. Within the legal frame work of the Welfare Act this is likely to increase the pressures.
One does wonder what the back up plans are for computer failure and other software issues. Yesterdays political statements were not reassuring in the sence that Ian Duncan Smith admitted to having to under take reviews and we are currently not yet at the end of the pilot scheme in the North West.
It should be remembered that the North East and Birmingham areas are the areas that are where training and support will be key as this is where the unemployment figures are at their worst and it could be argued that this is where there literacy and I.T competence for not just Universal Credit but also Universal Job Match may be needed the most. You can as a jsa claiment be sanctioned for failing to tick the box asking allowing the adviser to see your account.....dpa not considered.
Opportunities
There is without a shadow of doubt a market for online training and support that may be filled and met by training providers. There is a way here that claiments can be saved time and energy by on line training and support where the claiment has access to a computer at home.
Conclusion
There is a General election coming up before the final role out of this process. Are we likely to see a re branding of the concept..Yes.
If this becomes a disaster we are likely to see this as a vote loser. It doesnt just affect the non workers.But, it affects the millions of low income earners with savings of less than £16.000.
The computer access will clearly be key and its infrustructure does have to be accesible and fit for purpose.
WATCH THIS SPACE COMES TO MIND

Universal Credit the Challenge approaches

Universal Credit

An introduction to Universal Credit by DWP

Is it to close time wise with the issues involved

The Parliamentary challenge is that the national Audit office has made it very clear

The setbacks the watchdog identified included:

Officials were "unable to explain" the reasoning behind the timescales or their feasibility
There were no "adequate measures" of progress
Computer systems lack the function to identify potentially fraudulent claims, relying instead on manual checks
£34m investment in IT systems was written off
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) lacked IT expertise and senior leadership
Delays to the rollout would reduce the expected benefits of reform

BBC"

Universal credit: Welfare reform 'poor value' watchdog says

Mr Duncan Smith said the rollout of universal credit would be delivered "within budget and within the timescale"

The government's flagship welfare reform has been badly managed, is "overambitious" and poor value for money, the spending watchdog has said.

The National Audit Office said risks were taken with universal credit to hit targets, IT systems had "limited functionality" and an unfamiliar project management approach was used.

A national rollout of the new benefit has been delayed following IT glitches.

Expenditure on IT systems has accounted for more than 70% of the £425m spent to date but the report suggested officials did not yet know whether the infrastructure in place would support a ational rollout.

While steps were taken at the end of 2012 to get to grips with some of the problems, the watchdog said the "underlying issues" had not been addressed.

Amyas Morse, the head of the National Audit Office, said the "relatively high risk trajectory" was met by "weak management, ineffective control and poor governance".

The BBC has learned that the overspend on the the governments flagship welfare reform programme could rise further, as £162m has been invested on new hardware and software, in addition to the £34m on IT systems.

The TUC view is featured here-

The Guardian says"

Universal credit frontline: 'I'm left with nothing'

Kiran Singh, part-time lecturer and sole parent of nine-year-old, dreading move to streamlined payments

Kiran Singh is living on the breadline. The 35-year-old single mother from Harrow, north London, received her advice letter about universal credit from Harrow council three weeks ago. And now she's fretting as to how her already precarious circumstances might be affected.

Working 9am-3pm as a part-time lecturer, she sometimes manages to rake in extra cash by taking on design projects, but on average she takes home far less than £1,000 a month.

As sole parent for her nine-year-old daughter and in a low-income bracket, she is entitled to working tax credits and housing benefit. Yet with childcare costs, London rents, bills and a bus pass, she barely scrapes by. "It all adds up and I'm left with nothing," she says.

A failure to pay a few pounds here or there may send her precariously balanced finances over the edge, so she is not looking forward to the move to UC and its new streamlined payments system, which the National Audit Office has warned has veered dangerously off track and is suffering from serious software development issues. Software central to the design of an IT system meant to serve the day-to-day lives of approximately 12 million people has not materialised to specification or has been junked. The programme had to be officially restarted this summer, communication between staff is poor, and morale is low.

When about one-third of the staff were moved off the programme at the instruction of the project's new director, Howard Shiplee, in July, one senior manager wrote: "The plans to coordinate our communication of staff assignments have failed. We now have people sat together all over the programme, some who know, some who don't know, some who have seen lists with their names on, some who have heard their names are not on them, etc, etc."

In a leaked internal survey, DWP staff comments were damning and painted a picture of administrative chaos. "This is the third review in 16 months, no rollout plans, no confidence in going forward and stakeholders losing confidence in our ability to deliver," wrote one civil servant.

"After 29 years of service this has been the most soul-destroying work I have done," wrote another.

Singh also fears that under the new culture, where the mantra is "more and better paid work" she might be told by job centre advisors that she'll have to take on more hours or face receiving diminished benefits.

She can't see how she will find time to search for extra and better paid work even as her daughter gets older. "I'm a single parent. I have to be with my daughter. I can't work full time until she can look after herself."

Fiona Weir, the chief executive of Gingerbread, a charity for single parents, said she was concerned that the delayed introduction of universal credit has meant many millions of people simply aren't being informed about how the programme will affect them.

"There has been virtually no communication about when these individuals and families – nearly 2 million of whom are single parent families – can expect to move on to universal credit, and what it will mean for their often precarious finances."

So what is the Staff view point
Well "The Guardian " put this article together based on a leaked report

Staff working on the biggest shakeup of the welfare state in its history have described the project as "soul-destroying" and "unbelievably frustrating", with some saying they are under so much pressure that they can only engage in "firefighting and panic management".

A leaked internal survey of scores of Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) employees working on the government's flagshipUniversal Credit programme describes an environment of poor management and high levels of stress. Labour said the survey was "utterly damning".

Universal Credit (UC) – the brainchild of Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary – seeks to streamline and integrate benefit payments for millions of claimants. It is a huge IT project that has been hit with a number of setbacks in recent months.

Interim results of the staff survey selected by the DWP's business change director and distributed back to staff last week were mainly negative. One civil servant writes of "a near complete absence of anything that looks like strategic leadership in the programme". Another says: "There is a divisive culture of secrecy around current programme developments and very little in the way of meaningful messages for staff or stakeholders explaining what will happen and when."

Taking a direct swipe at managers, another civil servant says: "I have never worked somewhere where decision making was so apparently poor at senior levels … and communications from that level was totally nonexistent. This programme should be a case study for how not to engage with your people to get the most out of them."

In an email to programme staff on 23 July, the business change director, a senior civil servant, admits that the initial findings from the survey revealed that there was "much room for improvement".

"We received some very honest comments, which is exactly what we need if we are truly going to address your concerns and make things better … Many comments focused on communication – colleagues were unclear about both their role and future plans for UC. There were also a significant number of comments about senior leadership and the culture within UC.

"Clearly there is much room for improvement and we are starting from a pretty low base. However, without this honesty it would be much harder to tackle positively and move forward. With your help we will do all we can to make Universal Credit the great place to work that we all want it to be."

The report found that 68% of employees responded to the survey. The highest ratings came from staff who said they were "treated fairly and without discrimination". However, the lowest ratings were given when staff were asked if "senior leaders listen to my concerns and act on them" and "I understand the programme vision for UC and what success looks like".

Comments included: "After 29 years of service this has been the most soul-destroying work I have done," and: "There is too much dishonesty and no one ever admits to making a mistake."

Another said: "This is the third review in 16 months, no rollout plans, no confidence in going forward and stakeholders losing confidence in our ability to deliver."

One respondent to the survey complained that stress was damaging people's health.

The shadow employment minister, Stephen Timms, said: "These testimonies from the heart of the Universal Credit programme are utterly damning. No strategic leadership, no plan, no idea. The scheme is in chaos.

"The truth is Universal Credit is in crisis and everyone knows it. It's time for Iain Duncan Smith to admit this project is in deep trouble, come clean about how bad things are, and ask for help, because if things stay as they are this flagship will sink – taking hundreds of millions of pounds of public money with it."

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, which represents 80,000 civil servants in the DWP, said: "Universal Credit is defining Iain Duncan Smith's time as work and pensions secretary, lurching from crisis to crisis and showing the failings in the government's obsession with ideology over proper investment and support for people who are out of work. The views of the staff could not be clearer and they really must be listened to."

The DWP acknowledged that its staff had raised important issues and said that a new management team had been put in place following the death of Philip Langsdale last year.

A DWP spokesperson said: "Universal Credit is in a new phase following the successful early launch in Greater Manchester and the announcement of how the new benefit will roll out across the country from October.

"A new management team with clear strategic leadership is in place led by Howard Shiplee, one of the UK's leading experts in delivering major projects including the Olympic Park. As a part of this, we are working with staff to understand the issues they were facing, just as any responsible employer would."

Wednesday 4 September 2013

UN comes to look at UK housing issue and Bedroom tax

The effect of the bedroom tax on low-income households is being investigated by Raquel Rolnik, the UN special rapporteur on housing. Photograph: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images

A senior UN official is in the UK to scrutinise the impact of the bedroom tax on the human rights of people in low-income households. The special rapporteur on housing, Raquel Rolnik, is on a two-week tour of cities where she will meet tenants affected by the policy as well as officials, campaigners and academics.

Social tenants deemed to have more bedrooms than they need have had their housing benefit reduced under changes to the welfare system that came into affect in April.

Ministers say the change tackles an unfair spare room subsidy not available to private-sector renters and suggest it will save around £500m a year as part of the government's deficit-reduction strategy.

But the policy has triggered protests, with critics claiming it is forcing families into deprivation and that it will ultimately increase the benefit bill by pushing people into the private sector where rents are higher on average.

Rolnik, who will reveal the initial findings of the unprecedented inspection next Wednesday, said the UK faced a unique moment when the challenge of providing adequate housing was "on the agenda".

Rolnik asked the British government to allow her to make an inspection late last year. She makes two country investigations every year. Her decision to visit the UK was prompted in part, she said, by her sense that Britain was experiencing a housing crisis and by concern about the impact of welfare changes on the right to adequate housing.

"There is a housing crisis. This is very clear," she said. "The aim of the visit is to assess the current situation. Of course the bedroom tax and austerity measures and welfare reform as far as they impact on the right to adequate housing is part of our agenda."

Judging by her previously frank assessments of government's housing records, Rolnik is likely to be vocal in outlining her concerns at the end of reporting trip next week.

A spokesperson on the visit said Rolnik's investigation would not just focus on the bedroom tax but also on UK housing policy more widely.

Article 25 of the universal declaration of human rights includes housing as part of the "right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family".

Rolnik said: "The UK has voiced its commitment to human rights on repeated occasions, and this mission will give me an opportunity to assess in-depth to what extent adequate housing, as one central aspect of the right to an adequate standard of living, is at the core of this commitment.

"The UK faces a unique moment, when the challenge to promote and protect the right to adequate housing for all is on the agenda.

"In doing so, special attention would need to be given to responding to the specific situations of various population groups, in particular low-income households and other marginalised individuals and groups."

The visit – at the invitation of the government – takes in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and Manchester and will include sessions in local communities.

A UN spokesman said the UK was the signatory to a number of international treaties that protect the right to adequate housing and non-discrimination.

The final report will be presented by Rolnik to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva in March.

Reality is that the Bedroom tax has only recently come into effect and responce may prove interesting in respect of human rights

Sunday 18 August 2013

Taking in a lodger -DWP bosses say

The question of subletting and tax from earnings in respect of having a lodger raised in the House of Commoms

Clearly this is a loaded question. Social Housing is likely to see people who are on Workinf family Tax credit as well as on jsa and disability benefits
Whats your view?

Tacking Youth unemployment and its results

National schemes to tackle youth unemployment are not working, the group representing English councils has said.

The LGA said the current system was over-complicated, with 35 different national schemes across 13 different age boundaries costing £15bn a year.

Research by the LGA also found a drop of 8% in the number of young people in England who started a scheme last year compared with three years ago.

The government has insisted it is not complacent about youth unemployment.

A Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) spokesman said: "This report fails to recognise that despite youth unemployment being a big challenge for a decade, the level has fallen by 38,000 since last year, and the number of young people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance has fallen for 14 consecutive months."

He said the department was working locally with businesses and councils to help young people into work through Jobcentre Plus.

He said the Youth Contract alone would offer help to nearly 500,000 young people over three years.

And a new traineeship programme would be launched in the autumn to help those without the right experience or qualifications to get an apprenticeship or a job, he added.

'Meddling'

On Wednesday, the Office for National Statistics said youth unemployment, among those aged 16-24, had increased by 15,000 in the three months to June to reach 973,000 despite a fall of 4,000 in the overall level of unemployment.

“Start Quote

Ministers need to act now to introduce a Compulsory Jobs Guarantee to get any young person out of work for more than a year into a paying job - one they would be required to take”

Liam ByrneShadow work and pensions secretary

The Local Government Association (LGA) said 50,000 fewer jobless young people were getting help from job schemes today, than was the case three years ago, despite long-term youth unemployment remaining stubbornly high.

Programmes include the Work Programme, which gives support to welfare claimants who need more help looking for and staying in work, and Youth Contracts, which create opportunities including apprenticeships and work experience.

The LGA said that not only was the national system too complicated, but that "meddling" by successive governments had made the situation worse.

It said that only 27% of 16 and 17-year-olds starting the government's Youth Contract were helped into training or work.

David Simmonds, chair of the LGA's Children and Young People Board, added: "It's clear that nationally driven attempts to tackle youth unemployment aren't working.

"Many young people tell us that... finding a scheme that's right for them is a real challenge.

"While there are a number of good initiatives, government has side-lined councils and incentivised a series of services like schools, colleges and third sector providers to work in isolation of each other, with no clarity on who is responsible for leading the offer to young people on the ground.

"We think by aligning what's happening in local government with many of these schemes, we could get a lot more young people into work than is the case at the moment."

Liam Byrne, the shadow work and pensions secretary, said David Cameron's government had "comprehensively failed young people".

"The Work Programme has missed every single one of its performance targets. The Youth Contract is on course to miss its targets by 92%.

"Ministers need to act now to introduce a Compulsory Jobs Guarantee to get any young person out of work for more than a year into a paying job - one they would be required to take

If the Government gets it wrong with the Youth at this critical stage their is a grave risk that it causes untold damage to any potential career

It is critical to get the Youth properly trained to meet the business need as well as dealing with the attitiudes that develop prior to training

Wednesday 17 July 2013

july2013 figures

Whilst short term figures are good the worrying aspect is long term unemployment
long term and Youth unemployment remain stubbonly high

bbc

UK unemployment fell by 57,000 to 2.51 million in the three months to May, the Office for National Statistics said.

Youth unemployment fell by 20,000, but the number of long-term jobless hit a 17-year high.

The number of Jobseeker's Allowance claimants in June fell by 21,200 to 1.48 million, the first fall below 1.5 million for nearly three years.

Ministers said it showed that recovery was taking hold, but critics said the human costs were still too high.

Separately, the ONS reported that average earnings increased by 1.7% in the year to May, up by 0.2% on the previous month, giving an average weekly wage of £476.

The unemployment rate was 7.8%, the ONS data showed. The number of people in employment rose by 16,000 to a total of 29.7 million.

Analysis

Jonty BloomBusiness correspondent, BBC News

It seems that even with low growth rates, the UK economy can create jobs.

Since this time last year about 300,000 more people are in work. And that continues to surprise economists.

In past economic downturns. unemployment has risen much higher - and fallen very slowly.

One explanation is the low rate of wage increases. The latest ONS figures show that pay is increasing on average by 1% a year.

With inflation at almost three times that level, it means the average person is taking a 2% pay cut in real terms.

That is a trend that has been going on for several years. And while it makes staff cheaper to employ and helps bring down unemployment, it also means that even many of those in work are worse off than they were last year.

However, 915,000 people have been out of work for more than a year, the ONS figures showed, an increase of 32,000 and the highest total since 1996.

Just over 460,000 people have been jobless for more than two years, the highest figure since 1997.

The number of people classed as economically inactive also increased in the latest quarter, up by 87,000 to 9.04 million.

'Area of strength'

Unemployment is now 72,000 lower than a year ago, which Employment Minister Mark Hoban said was "encouraging".

"The fall in the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits, together with the news that there are currently over half a million vacancies available in the UK economy, show that there are opportunities out there for those who are prepared to work hard, and who aspire to get on in life," he said.

David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "With employment rising and unemployment falling, the labour market remains an area of strength for the UK economy.

Wednesday 10 July 2013

Young people gain employment through social media has been launched

VideofyMe app uses Twitter to help young get jobs

The app allows users to record and edit their video CVs

A scheme to help young people gain employment through social media has been launched.

The VideofyMe app allows job hunters to record a video CV which is uploaded to Twitter. Employers can search the hashtag #employme to find applicants.

The project is being launched with London-based charity UK Youth and has the backing of Dragons' Den judge Hilary Devey.

Latest youth figures show 958,000 people aged 16 to 24 are unemployed.

Recent research by High Fliers shows that an average of 46 UK graduates are competing for each job.

Job hunters can record the video CV using the free smartphone app and then share it with hashtag #employme followed by a second hashtag of the sector they want to work in e.g. #design or #charitysector.

'Show personality'

The automatic aggregation by Twitter of the videos through the #employme hashtag means that uploaded video CVs can be easily found by interested employers. Some videos may also gain popularity by going viral.

It can also be uploaded to Facebook, YouTube and Tumblr.

Ms Devey has pledged to tweet a link to her favourite CV each week.

Mitchells & Butlers, who manage 1,600 pubs and restaurants including the All Bar One and Harvester chains, said it would use the scheme.

Helen Stuttard, senior recruitment manager, said: "I think that the video CV is a great idea especially for young people, graduates and students who may want to get their personality across as well as their passion for the role for which they are applying."

Charlotte Hill, chief executive of UK Youth, said: "Video CVs are a fantastic idea. They are simple and accessible to all and can help young people from all backgrounds present their skills and talents directly to employers."

A recent survey by Inspiring Interns, a company which helps graduates find internships which lead to full-time employment, found 94% of its clients wanted to see video CVs of candidates as part of the recruitment process.

So here you have the details from the site-------------------------------------------------------------------

With youth unemployment standing at around 1 million young people and up to 70 graduates chasing every job, it is more important than ever before to be heard above the crowd.

UK Youth has teamed up with the social video app VideofyMe to create a new social media market for jobs to help more young people from all kinds of backgrounds come to the attention of employers.

Simply make your own video CV and post it on Twitter with the hashtag #employme Employers can then search directly within Twitter for new recruits.

Download the app from the iTunes store or via www.videofy.me and follow the simple instructions on how to make a video. Then share with the wider world and potential employers.

Keep it short and snappy - maximum two minutes, but aim to be closer to one. Remember employers could have hundreds of applications to go through.
Be creative but not too clever - there is a fine line between being interesting and being a show off. You don't want your CV to go global for the wrong reasons.
Be professional – consider dressing and behaving like you would in the workplace or as if you are going for an interview in person.
Add value - the whole point of a video CV is to add greater insight to your strengths and personality. Don't just read out your CV. Let the employer know not only what you have achieved but what you could achieve for them.
Make it appropriate – target your video CV for the job market you are aiming for. A more creative video CV for the creative industries; a more straight forward video CV for business and commerce.
Include your contact details – make it as easy as possible for the employer to get hold of you.
Break all these rules - if you have a truly unique and arresting idea.

When you have finished your video post it using the app on twitter under the hashtag #employme and pick a second hashtag to reflect the sector you want to work in.

You can use the following:

#advertising #agriculture #arts #automotive #charity #construction #design #environment #fashion #film #finance #food #healthcare #hospitality #insurance #leisure #manufacturing #marketing #media #publishing #retail #sales #teaching #technology #television #transport

...or alternatively make up one of your own.

Here are some video CVs that were made earlier

A dream job would be nice

Employ adam

Helen Stuttard, Senior Recruitment Manager at Mitchells & Butlers, operators of around 1,600 managed pubs, bars and restaurants throughout the United Kingdom (including All Bar One, Harvesters, and Browns) comments:

"Mitchells & Butlers employs approximately 38,000 people in 17 brands throughout the UK. I think that the video CV is a great idea especially for young people, graduates and students who may want to get their personality across as well as their passion for the role for which they are applying."

Introduction